The present invention relates to a charger abnormality detecting device, which detects abnormalities such as a defect in a high voltage source, charge wire contamination, or charge wire disconnection in an electrophotographic apparatus or the like.
In a charger for charging or removing charge from a photoconductive drum in an electrophotographic apparatus or the like, when a high voltage source is defective, high voltage measurement instruments such as a high voltage voltmeter or a synchroscope are required to detect a defective part. Maintenance personnel usually do not have such instruments on hand. Thus, when such a defect is plausible, maintenance personnel must visually observe the copied image and determine if the power source is defective, relying on experience. No measuring instrument for detecting charge wire contamination or disconnection of a charger is heretofore available. For this reason, after a predetermined number of copies (e.g., 5,000 to 10,000 copies) have been produced, the charger is cleaned or replaced with a new one irrespective of its state of contamination or disconnection. This has resulted in time-consuming and high-cost maintenance servicing.